The interim govt in Bangladesh has decided to convert Gono Bhaban, the former official residence of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, into a museum. After the decision to covert it into a ‘July Uprising Memorial Museum’ was made at a meeting of the council of advisers on 5th September, today it was announced that a committee for the conversion will be formed by 8th September.
The committee will have architectural experts and museum officials to oversee the conversion of the former PM’s residence into a memorial for the ‘July Revolution’ that resulted in the fall of Sheikh Hasina government. “Possibly we will start our work from the next week,” said Post and telecommunication Adviser Nahid Islam after visiting the Gono Bhaban. He added that the administration wants to inaugurate the museum as soon as possible.
The adviser said that officials concerned have been asked to complete works on the museum within the quickest time. “The museum will be built, highly preserving the current condition of the structures and signs of destruction at Gono Bhaban to keep the image of people’s outburst and anger intact,” he added.
The proposed museum will preserve and display the memories of the July protests, with a chronicle of the daily events from the start of the protests till 5th August, when former PM Sheikh Hasina left the country. It will also have lists of protestors killed and injured during the revolution. Adviser Nahid Islam added that incidents of killings, enforced disappearances and the torture on the people by Awami League government in last 16 years will also be displayed in the museum.
Earlier on 5th September after the decision was made by the interim cabinet led by Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus, Sports and Youth Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan had said that the destructions caused to the building by the protestors will not be repaired, instead, they will be preserved as part of the memorial. He said, “Gono Bhaban will remain as people have left it. That means the government will turn it into a museum without carrying out any major change.”
Although Gana Bhaban was completed in 1975, Sheikh Hasina was the only prime minister to have stayed in it. The house was built by founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as his official residence and secretariat. But after its completion in 1975, Rahman didn’t move into it. After the assassination of Bangabandhu Rahman, the building was turned into a court-martial by the military rulers following the 1975 coup.
The building was renovated in 1985 on the occasion of first SAARC summit. After that, it was converted to state guest house. During her first term as PM, Sheikh Hasina had leased the building to conduct cabinet meetings.
When Begum Khaleda Zia became Prime Minister for the first time in 1991, she converted the office of the President into the Office of the Prime Minister, and she continued to live in the army cantonment.
When Hasina returned to power in 2009, the parliament passed a law to provide state security to the family of Mujibur Rahman, and Gono Bhaban was assigned as official resident of Sheikh Hasina. She moved into the house in 2010, after renovation of the house.
On 29 August, the interim government repealed the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Family Members Security Act, 2009, revoking the state security provided to Sheikh Hasina and other members of the family.
